The South Korean government is taking steps to resolve regulatory and institutional uncertainties that hinder local content companies from entering the Chinese market during the follow-up negotiations of the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on services and investment.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Park Jeong-seong, head of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters, will visit CJ ENM Center on October 30 to hold a meeting with companies in the film, online video service (OTT), performance, gaming, and tourism sectors. This meeting aims to gather insights on the current status and challenges faced by the domestic content and tourism industries in entering the Chinese market, as well as to explore negotiation strategies.
Attending companies pointed out that while there is a high preference and demand for Korean content in China, this has not translated into sufficient profits or exports for businesses. They specifically highlighted difficulties in local market entry and business expansion due to discriminatory regulations and policy uncertainties in China.
The industry suggested that the follow-up negotiations should focus on easing discriminatory regulations, resolving policy uncertainties, and ensuring transparency and promptness in content review and approval processes.
Previously, South Korea and China held the 17th round of FTA services and investment follow-up negotiations in Seoul from October 12 to 16. Since the FTA came into effect in 2015, both countries have been engaged in follow-up negotiations since March 2018 to expand market access in the services and investment sectors.
The Ministry noted that while the trade volume of goods between the two countries is approximately $270 billion, the trade volume in services is only about $38.8 billion. The government sees significant potential for expanding cooperation in the services sector and continues to pursue related negotiations.
The government is also discussing the expansion of legal distribution channels for content and strengthening intellectual property protection through bilateral channels such as the Korea-China FTA Implementation Committee.
Park stated, "The government has actively utilized bilateral negotiations and channels such as the Korea-China FTA Implementation Committee to support the export of K-content and improve business conditions for companies entering the local market. We will ensure that industry opinions are fully reflected in the ongoing follow-up negotiations of the Korea-China FTA services and investment discussions."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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